The use of the Japanese Kamikaze pilots during the second world war was one of the most dramatic and chilling developments of the war. But who were the Kamikaze pilots and what motivated them to make the ultimate sacrifice?
The call for Kamikaze pilots drew a staggering response. Three times as many applied for suicide flights as the number of planes available. The authors of Kamikaze: Japan¿s Suicide Gods look into the hearts and minds of the Kamikaze pilots, viewed in the full context of the war and the Japanese cultures and traditions out of which the Kamikaze emerged. Based on interviews with Kamikaze survivors, unpublished memoirs, and documents not previously open to the public, the book portrays one of the most extraordinary and astonishing events in history, an event that has made Kamikaze a household word around the world.
¿Original, astonishing, riveting ¿ this stunning book is a warning to today¿s world. The authors trace the direct line between the Kamikaze and the Al-Qaeda fighters. Both engaged in suicide missions and reaped their rewards in the next world. The Kamikaze became gods and the Al-Qaeda warriors entered paradise. Based on new sources, this is a chilling story masterfully told.¿ Martin McCauley, formerly Professor of Politics, University of London
¿Fascinating¿poignant, horrifying, sad, and heart wrenching. This book is not only about the Kamikaze but about Japanese conceptions of loyalty, duty, sacrifice and death.¿ Gerald L. Curtis, Professor of Politics, Columbia University
¿This well written and meticulously researched book¿.evokes haunting memories of the tragic last days of the war and offers provocative insights into the problems of terrorism today¿ Admiral James A. Lyons (ret.), former Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet
¿Whatever one may think of the ruthless militarists who ordered them into battle, the tragic fate of the young Tokkotai suicide pilots ¿ many of them among Japan¿s "best and brightest" ¿ deserves both pity and respect. The authors have presented a fascinating portrait of who these young pilots were and why they willingly went to their deaths in the service of Emperor Hirohito, near the close of a war which was long past winning¿ Frank Gibney, US lecturer and Japan expert, author of Japan
¿Not being an admirer of zealotry, I find it hard to think of the Kamikaze as anything other than misguided young men. This does not mean that their story is not remarkable. Here it is told with skill and vigor. I could not tell it as well myself.¿ Edward Seidensticker, Japan expert and translator of The Tale of Genji
